It's amazing how much of the content included in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is entirely optional and can easily be missed on your first playthrough if you're not exploring off the beaten track. One of the coolest optional features involves the construction of an entire town, and it's also one of the longest quests in...

The Nintendo Switch is one month old. We don't think that's a landmark worthy of cake and balloons, but it's an interesting one nevertheless. Having hit stores on Friday 3rd March the results so far have been quite positive - yes, Nintendo has a chance with this one.
The opening weekend went...

One of the biggest departures The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has made from other games in the series's storied history is the move away from finding hearts to replenish your health; instead, this time around Link will need to don his chef's hat and craft some delicacies if he is to...

Capcom's Ghouls 'n Ghosts series is held in high esteem by many a retro gamer, yet the franchise is currently dormant and we're unlikely to see a sequel any time soon. However, we may be getting the next best thing in the form of Battle Princess Madelyn, a spiritual successor created by Causal Bit Games and...

Sequels, everyone has an opinion on them. A bit like talk around 'soft launches' and 'lazy ports', sometimes the wider consensus that follows games or systems isn't always accurate or fair. Yet that's the beauty of the internet, and sometimes its biggest flaw - the agenda isn't entirely set by public relations...

There's so much cool content in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild that it's easy to overlook some unique features, and one we're been guilty of ignoring in the Nintendo Life office is the ability to surf on your shield.
The game doesn't make a big song and dance about this ability, outside of two characters who give...

Having the right gear in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild can be the difference between success or failure, but sometimes you just want to look like a badass while exploring the wilds of Hyrule - and for that, you really need the Radiant Set.
This particular set lures skeleton-type enemies and increases your attack...

When Nintendo unveiled some early retail release dates and windows, we couldn't help but ponder the gap between The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. With ARMS still sitting in a vague 'Spring' window and a number of third-party retail relea

When the Nintendo Switch Teaser Trailer was unveiled in October, my family were among many - seemingly - that loved the idea and the concept. My brother, who hadn't been in on the Wii U generation, was very much attracted to it and wanted one, while my mum is a Nintendo enthusiast in any case...

If you're trying to get all of the Shrines in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild then you may well have hit a brick wall with the Korgu Chidah Shrine, which lies on Eventide Island in the south-east part of the map. Set apart from the mainland and therefore quite tricky to get to, Eventide is the biggest and more...

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is an open-world adventure that is simply staggering in scope, and it's easy to spend hours simply wandering around and exploring without furthering the storyline. However, while large portions of your quest will no doubt be spent hunting wildlife, discovering shrines and

When assessing the general interest in Nintendo Switch, the various metrics - in firm figures and from surveys and so on - show a system with a decent chance at success. The important work is still to come for Nintendo, but while there was always the uneasy sense that the wider public never truly...

In this article Nintendo Life regular Alan Lopez gives an account of his attempt to play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild with his partner, as real life didn't suit his desire for diving into the lengthy adventure on his own.
I've always gotten a chill before I started something I knew was going to be really great. I...

If you need any indication of how the 'hybrid' form factor of the Nintendo Switch means different things to different gamers, just chat to half a dozen system owners about how they play the console. For my part it's been mostly a home console, with the tablet spending a lot of time in the dock; yet I know quite a few...

For anyone who grew up playing the Sega Master System it is likely that Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap will bring back fond memories. This was a Metroidvania-style title before the term was even coined; its superb combination of action platforming, puzzle-solving and exploration held its own against...

After a tough four years for Wii U and the direct correlation between Pokémon hype and 3DS hardware sales, it was easy to approach the Nintendo Switch launch with trepidation. At different times since mid-January many observers and followers of the company have likely gone through...

With the Nintendo Switch now out for a week, plenty of eager Nintendo fans have put down a lot of money and jumped into the company's latest hardware offering. Various members of our team are in that group, as you'd expect, and having spent the past seven days playing around with the hardware we thought it worthwhile...

When any new console launches, from Nintendo and otherwise, it's a period of excitement, buzz and plenty of irrationality online. Advocates and critics have blazing arguments, praise is high and issues are blown out of proportion, and actually understanding the cold reality is tricky. Nintendo has been able...

In the lead-up to the release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, series creator Shigeru Miyamoto and Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma were keeping mum on whether or not Link's iconic green tunic would turn up in the game, opting instead to focus on Link's new look - a blue shirt dubbed the Champion's Tunic. Gone was the green cap...

Tetris is a pretty significant title in the history of Nintendo - had the company not been able to license the seminal Russian puzzler back in the late '80s then it's likely that the Game Boy wouldn't have been the massive global success it was. Long seen as the game which sold the...

Clothing has never played a more important role in any Zelda titles than it does in Breath of the Wild. Link's multiple options serve not only to make him more stylish but also to protect him from Hyrule's harsh environment. With that in mind, we've put together a list of all of the options we've been able to find along with what...

The internet is great for many things. It's an incredible resource for information on how the universe works, societies and cultures of the world and how to make a nice dressing for your salad. It's also home to people's passions that they can then share with others - in the gaming space alone people...

After all, who doesn't want the legendary sword that seals the darkness?

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is easily the biggest adventure in the long-running series yet, but it's also significant in that it does away with a lot of the traditions which have been present in the franchise for decades, such as Link's iconic green clothing and...

A number reading this page will have spent the last weekend dabbling around with the Nintendo Switch. We've been doing this too, of course, and have also observed friends and family doing the same. Add to that the power of the internet and some interesting little discoveries have been made, some of which...

We've been absolutely blown away by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on Nintendo Switch, awarding it the maximum of 10/10 in our review. As a game to introduce players both to a revolution in the IP and new hardware it delivers in spectacular fashion. Yet, of course, just like The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess it is st

Happy Switchmas Day everyone! It was like the day would never come. No, seriously, this writer thought the wait would never end.
The system is here though - its launch line-up has The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and some other stuff at retail, while the eShop line-up fleshed out a little prior to launch (especially...

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is now out on Nintendo Switch and Wii U, and as we explained in our review of the Switch version it's quite unlike any other entry in the Zelda series. An open-world non-linear experience, traversal of the world is a fresh take and survival becomes an early challenge. You don't get...

The day is finally here! The third day of March, 2017. The day the world can finally line up and purchase Nintendo's seventh home video game hardware iteration. I've actually been around for all of them and specifically I've been living in Japan since the Game Boy Advance days, so I've seen a lot come and go. The release of...

The Nintendo Switch has already arrived in some houses courtesy of early deliveries, and fans around the world are gearing up for midnight launches. One tradition is set to continue in the US, too, with a 30 day journey by a super-fan to be first in line for the official debut sale in the country...

One of the most exciting features of the Nintendo Switch is the fact that it's now region free, a welcome progression for a Nintendo home console. While it's a much-lauded feature, like most publishers Nintendo won't be publishing any tutorials on how to do this any time soon, so we here at Nintendo Life have decided to help you...

Nintendo has created some truly amazing controllers over the past three decades, from the ergonomic SNES pad with its industry-defining four-button cluster and shoulder buttons to the groundbreaking Wii remote. It might sounds a little like hyperbole to suggest that the new Switch Pro Controller tops all of these in terms of being a...

It's no exaggeration to claim that the Switch is Nintendo's most important console release so far. After the commercial disaster that was the Wii U and the decision to reshuffle internal teams to remove the schism between handheld and home development, the Switch represents a one-shot strategy for the Kyoto giant; while the...

Since we grabbed some time with it at the end of a January Nintendo Switch preview event, we've been looking forward to Snipperclips – Cut it out, together!. Conceptually it is a game that can work on any system with at least two pads, but the 'play anywhere' multiplayer of the...

UPDATE: Mere moments after we published this feature, it was confirmed during the Nindie Direct that the Switch version of Yooka-Laylee will be launching "very soon" and will feature all of the game's multiplayer modes.
ORIGINAL STORY: The employees over at Playtonic have been through a lot to...

Update:
The Showcase happened and, well, we should have stuck with lots of games.
Original Article:
We expected a presentation in early- to mid-February to fill in gaps on the Nintendo Switch, but the big N has waited until just a few days before launch to roll out a 'Nindies Showcase' focused on download games. As is...

A common (and fair) request often made of us is to share multiple perspectives on major releases beyond the main reviewer. While not always possible, in the case of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild it's been on the cards, with a couple of members of our team tackling the adventure in order to produce...

With the non-stop circumspection, leaks and debates we have online, at times it can feel as if system launches will never actually arrive. For Nintendo fans, though, it's getting very real, as we enter the final week before Nintendo Switch launches.
It's getting so close, and in the past week we had our hardware and The...

The launch line-up of the Nintendo Switch continues to evolve and grow, with FAST RMX by Shin'en Multimedia being a recent addition to the 3rd March line-up. A 'remix' of the excellent FAST Racing NEO, it's an exciting one for fans of the original fast-paced racer as it will add new content and improved...

Putting the Nintendo Switch in front of the kids was a fascinating experiment. They had, of course, heard of the console but beyond that knew very little about it. So far Nintendo aren't again the talk of the playground - although give it a few months and that seems likely to change.
I got the console...

Nintendo faced a big challenge when developing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Primarily a Wii U project, since Summer 2014 series producer Eiji Aonuma has spoken of the most ambitious title yet in the franchise, of an open world that's truly alive and fantastical. Some remarked that we'd heard bold statements...

Yesterday we gave you an exhaustive photo gallery which showed how Nintendo Switch game cards - and their packaging - compared to pretty much every other cartridge and card we could lay our hands on. Today, we're seeing how the console itself shapes up when placed alongside other systems.
We've tried to include a good...

March 3rd is hurtling towards us and with it comes that most tantalising of promises: fresh Nintendo hardware. The Switch is just a matter of days away but we've been lucky enough to spend a substantial amount of time with the new hybrid console, putting it through its paces to give you - our dear readers - an...

The Nintendo Switch is mere days away from release and many of you will no doubt have your pre-order secured, ready to collect the shiny new system on March 3rd. One of the biggest questions many prospective owners will have is which route to take when it comes to software; given the portable nature of the console you...

The Nintendo Switch is so close we can almost feel the HD Rumble, and the hype is building. This may be an era of 24/7 opinions and debates online, but beyond all of that there are few things more exciting - in gaming, at least - than the arrival of new hardware. The Switch has huge potential, of...

Slowly and surely, in the build-up to its launch on 3rd March, we're working through some 'countdown' articles around the Nintendo Switch. This time we're going to consider 1-2-Switch, and a similar angle to our first impressions article from back in January. In that piece we said it was an ideal...

The big N underestimates fan desire to see the eShop, user interface etc

There have been good arguments in favour of the high intensity / short turnaround reveal and launch of the Nintendo Switch. The preview trailer - in October 2016 - got plenty of attention and seemed to be effective, gaining plenty of traction on social media and YouTube. The...

Whilst we're counting down the final two weeks before the Nintendo Switch launches on March 3rd, Nintendo has been hosting special hands-on events in which the public can get their first experiences with the console and several of its games. We managed to grab ourselves some tickets for the first of the three...

In this guest article Funké Joseph, who attended a Nintendo Switch preview event, shares his thoughts on why Switch can be integral to local multiplayer.
Local multiplayer is dead. Well, it's almost dead, some would argue. There are still a few games that are carrying the split-screen torch like...

Having now preordered your Nintendo Switch and possibly a carrying case, some games and possibly a micro SD card - you are all set, right? You get two Joy-Cons and a simple 'Grip' in the box, but there are a whole host of different ac

When a game is described as a 'rolly roguelike' and comes with an intriguing trailer, it's certainly a good idea to sit up and take notice. TumbleSeed is expected on the Nintendo Switch this Spring and is the work of aeiowu, a '1-person developer' that's also a collective - in...

It seems that leaks are an inevitable part of the modern gaming industry. We've seen plenty of game leaks come out around the NX / Switch over the past year (some yet to be proven right), while some tech specs of the PS4 Pro were doing the rounds before it was officially announced;...

When it comes to the launch day and more general 'March' line-up for the Nintendo Switch, there are a few obvious high-profile releases that are getting plenty of attention. As we made clear in our first impressions article, however, some in our team left January preview events with a...

When Splatoon was unveiled at E3 2014, this writer was initially unsure of its appeal. Then the reaction of the community on these pages began to take shape, and fans tweeted, and the fan-art began - it was evident that Nintendo had produced a new IP with huge potential.
By the time we got closer to its...

The Nintendo Switch is just weeks away, and Nintendo is still keeping us waiting on some details such as the eShop, the Virtual Console (if it'll even be there at launch) and pinning down a finalised launch day line-up. The company is likely planning a Direct, information drop or new feature-driven videos to answer some questions prior to 3rd...

The DS attracted an incredibly broad range of gamers, as its sensational sales attest, and the 3DS has also achieved positive results drawing in gamers of various types. Nintendo has also released variations of the 3DS for different audiences, too, with the 2DS - as an example - primarily pitched as a budget option...

The internet has changed a lot of things in modern life. We now consume more music, videos and news online than ever before, and as a result those industries have had to change dramatically in order to compensate and survive. Music and video retailers are closing down while paid-for print media is feeling the pinch due to the fact...

https://youtu.be/h-v_0gunpT4
The Nintendo Switch featured prominently during the recent Super Bowl (or Superb Owl, we're not sure yet) and the ad that featured it has been very well received by the press and the public. But why? What was it about this ad that went down so well where some previous efforts by Nintendo have...

The Nintendo Switch is now a little less than a month away. Over the coming weeks we're going to use official details and our own hands on impressions to give breakdowns and opinions on various features and games that are integral to the system. First up - the Joy-Con.
It seems an age ago now, but in early...

Well, the Nintendo Switch is a month away, which is exciting news for those with pre-orders down or perhaps are considering the possibility of grabbing one on launch day. The arrival of new gaming hardware, from Nintendo or rivals such as Sony and Microsoft, is typically enough to get hearts fluttering and send...

Since the big Nintendo Switch Presentation we've run a couple of polls to gauge your views and thoughts on the system, with a mixed outlook in our most recent set of questions. Over the past week, though, we've been publishing some guides for those that have decided they're picking up a Nintendo Switch on day...

It's been a little while since the major Nintendo Switch unveiling, with a clearer picture now on the system's capabilities, games and prospects. Much is still up for debate, of course, but with its release a little over a month away opinions and thoughts on the new system are...

It would be fair to say that ARMS received a somewhat lukewarm response when it was unveiled during the Nintendo Switch presentation. While some reacted positively to the colourful visuals, fetching character design and motion-sensitive action, others wrote it off as little more than Wii Sports boxing with better graphics, and...

It's nearly two weeks since Nintendo hosted its Switch Presentation in Japan, and lots of opinions and details have been shared since. We also had teams go to both the London and New York press / public events after the broadcast, and we wrote up quite a few articles about the system and games as a result...

With all the excitement of going hands-on with the games, controller and screen at the launch event it's easy to pass over some of the finer details of the Nintendo Switch. Chief among these details for families is the Parental Controls app.
Other features may be sexier or more...

When Nintendo gave its major Switch Presentation earlier this month, following it up with details in press releases, social media and interviews, there was a fair bit of information that was shared. While the Presentation had the task of giving the first major showcase for the system, it did however skip over quite a...

Over the years we've had some quirky exchanges with Nintendo's PR department, but one of the best related to a light-hearted article about Yoshi. It turned out that an official Nintendo Character Guide from 1993 had said that Yoshi is "properly known as T. Yoshisaur Munchakoopas" and is a 'young dinosaur',...

On occasions in the past we've bemoaned Nintendo's tendency to shut down work by talented independent developers remixing and re-imagining their games, when an alternative is to embrace them. Capcom did this with the quirky free PC release of Mega Man X Street Fighter, which was fun if a tad flawed, but SEGA...

With the Nintendo Switch getting rather close, interest in the line-up of games that we can expect this year is naturally starting to increase. We've already produced a breakdown of confirmed games that we periodically revisit and update, but we thought we'd pick out some particularly intriguing titles from third-parties. In...

Well, it's been a little over a week since Tatsumi Kimishima took to the stage in Tokyo and kicked off a weekend of reveals, events and live streams to showcase the Nintendo Switch. Early pre-orders have been made, games have been confirmed, and opinions have been shared.
Some of you may recall that we ran a poll shortly...

FAST Racing NEO was easily one of the best indie titles on the Wii U; in our review we referred to it as one of the few titles that is "...able to stand to-to-toe with Nintendo's first-party offerings." Unfortunately it didn't get the level of attention it deserved due to being released on a console with such a...

The dust has settled on the big reveal of the Nintendo Switch and while we're almost certain to see more software support confirmed for the console before launch day arrives, it's hard to ignore the feeling that history is repeating itself, at least when it comes to third party support. Companies like EA, Capcom,...

The reaction to Nintendo Switch since its presentation has been mixed, it's fair to say. In terms of metrics such as 'Likes' on YouTube and vibes among my own acquaintances, family and friends there's been a positive response. Yet to browse some specialist sites and similar channels on YouTube (or even comments sections...

One of the most unexpected titles coming to Nintendo Switch is Disgaea 5 Complete, a tactical RPG in the vein of genre classics like Final Fantasy Tactics. We spent quite a bit of time with the game at Nintendo's New York Switch event, and came away quite impressed with the port.
If you haven't heard of the Disgaea...

Steve Bowling and Narelle Ho Sang collaborate their thoughts on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on Nintendo Switch.
At E3 2016, Nintendo showed little from upcoming games in the Wii U's twilight year. Understandable given the Switch was on the horizon, and details were still under wraps. Instead, the...

One of the surprise announcements from Nintendo's big Switch presentation was that it would be introducing a new subscription-based online service for which fans will need to pay a monthly fee. This seems as though it could come as something of a double-edged sword, so we're going to break down some of the pros and cons of this...